AN ACT to amend and reenact §52-1-5a and §52-1-8 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to redefining
the basis for disqualification of prospective jurors to
include those who have been convicted of any crime punishable
by imprisonment in excess of one year, perjury or false
swearing; and requiring clerks to provide copies of certain
juror qualification questionnaires to counsel of record upon
request.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §52-1-5a and §52-1-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

(a) Not less than twenty days before the date for which
persons are to report for jury duty, the clerk may, if directed by
the court, serve by first-class mail, upon each person listed on
the master list, a juror qualification form accompanied by
instructions necessary for its completion: Provided, That the clerk
may, if directed by the court, mail the juror qualification form to
only those prospective jurors drawn for jury service under the
provisions of section seven of this article. Each prospective
juror shall be directed to complete the form and return it by mail
to the clerk within ten days after its receipt. The juror
qualification form is subject to approval by the circuit court as
to matters of form and shall elicit the following information
concerning the prospective juror:

(1) The juror's name, sex, race, age and marital status;

(2) The juror's level of educational attainment, occupation
and place of employment;

(3) If married, the name of the juror's spouse and the
occupation and place of employment of the spouse;

(4) The juror's residence address and the juror's mailing
address if different from the residence address;

(5) The number of children which the juror has and their ages;

(6) Whether the juror is a citizen of the United States and a
resident of the county;

(7) Whether the juror is able to read, speak and understand
the English language;

(8) Whether the juror has any physical or mental disability
substantially impairing the capacity to render satisfactory jury
service: Provided, That a juror with a physical disability, who can
with reasonable accommodation render competent service, is eligible
for service;

(9) Whether the juror has, within the preceding two years,
been summoned to serve as a petit juror, grand juror or magistrate
court juror, and has actually attended sessions of the magistrate
or circuit court and been reimbursed for his or her expenses as a
juror;

(10) Whether the juror has lost the right to vote because of
a criminal conviction; and

(11) Whether the juror has been convicted of perjury, false
swearing or any crime punishable by imprisonment in excess of one
year under the applicable law of this state, another state or the
United States.

The juror qualification form may also request information
concerning the prospective juror's religious preferences and
organizational affiliations, except that the form and the
accompanying instructions shall clearly inform the juror that this
information need not be provided if the juror declines to answer
such inquiries.

(b) The juror qualification form shall contain the prospective
juror's declaration that the responses are true to the best of the
prospective juror's knowledge and an acknowledgment that a willful
misrepresentation of a material fact may be punished by a fine of
not more than $500 or imprisonment for not more than thirty days,
or both fine and imprisonment. Notarization of the juror
qualification form shall not be required. If the prospective juror
is unable to fill out the form, another person may assist the
prospective juror in the preparation of the form and indicate that
such person has done so and the reason therefor. If an omission,
ambiguity or error appear in a returned form, the clerk shall again
send the form with instructions to the prospective juror to make
the necessary addition, clarification or correction and to return
the form to the clerk within ten days after its second receipt.

(c) Any prospective juror who fails to return a completed
juror qualification form as instructed shall be directed by the
clerk to appear forthwith before the clerk to fill out the juror
qualification form. At the time of the prospective juror's
appearance for jury service, or at the time of any interview before
the court or clerk, any prospective juror may be required to fill
out another juror qualification form in the presence of the court
or clerk. At that time the prospective juror may be questioned
with regard to the responses to questions contained on the form and
the grounds for the prospective juror's excuse or disqualification.
Any information thus acquired by the court or clerk shall be noted
on the juror qualification form.

(d) Any person who willfully misrepresents a material fact on
a juror qualification form or during any interview described in
subsection (c) of this section, for the purpose of avoiding or
securing service as a juror, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned
not more than thirty days, or both fined and imprisoned.

(e) Upon the clerk’s receipt of the juror qualification
questionnaires of persons selected as prospective petit jurors, he
or she shall make the questionnaires of the persons so selected
available, upon request, to counsel of record in the trial or
trials for which the persons have been selected as prospective
jurors.

52-1-8. Disqualification from jury service.

(a) The court, shall determine whether any prospective juror
is disqualified for jury service on the basis of information
provided on the juror qualification form or interview with the
prospective juror or other competent evidence. The clerk shall
enter this determination in the space provided on the juror
qualification form and on the alphabetical lists of names drawn
from the jury wheel or jury box.

(b) A prospective juror is disqualified to serve on a jury if
the prospective juror:

(1) Is not a citizen of the United States, at least eighteen
years old and a resident of the county;

(2) Is unable to read, speak and understand the English
language. For the purposes of this section, the requirement of
speaking and understanding the English language is met by the
ability to communicate in American Sign Language or Signed English;

(3) Is incapable, by reason of substantial physical or mental
disability, of rendering satisfactory jury service. A person
claiming this disqualification may be required to submit a
physician's certificate as to the disability and the certifying
physician is subject to inquiry by the court at its discretion;

(4) Has, within the preceding two years, been summoned to
serve as a petit juror, grand juror or magistrate court juror and
has attended sessions of the magistrate or circuit court and been
reimbursed for his or her expenses as a juror pursuant to the
provisions of section twenty-one of this article, section thirteen,
article two of this chapter, or pursuant to an applicable rule or
regulation of the Supreme Court of Appeals promulgated pursuant to
the provisions of section eight, article five, chapter fifty of
this code;

(5) Has lost the right to vote because of a criminal
conviction; or

(6) Has been convicted of perjury, false swearing or any crime
punishable by imprisonment in excess of one year under the
applicable law of this state, another state or the United States.

(c) A prospective juror seventy years of age or older is not
disqualified from serving but shall be excused from service by the
court upon his or her request.

(d) A prospective grand juror is disqualified to serve on a
grand jury if he or she is an officeholder under the laws of the
United States or of this state except that the term "officeholder"
does not include notaries public.

(e) A person who is physically disabled and can render
competent service with reasonable accommodation is not ineligible
to act as juror and may not be dismissed from a jury panel on the
basis of disability alone. The circuit judge shall, upon motion by
either party or upon his or her own motion, disqualify a disabled
juror if the circuit judge finds that the nature of potential
evidence in the case including, but not limited to, the type or
volume of exhibits or the disabled juror's ability to evaluate a
witness or witnesses, unduly inhibits the disabled juror's ability
to evaluate the potential evidence. For purposes of this section:

(1) Reasonable accommodation includes, but is not limited to,
certified interpreters for the hearing impaired, spokespersons for
the speech impaired, real-time court reporting and readers for the
visually impaired.

(2) The court shall administer an oath or affirmation to any
person present to facilitate communication for a disabled juror.
The substance of the oath or affirmation shall be that any person
present as an accommodation to a disabled juror will not deliberate
on his or her own behalf, although present throughout the
proceedings, but act only to accurately communicate for and to the
disabled juror.

(f) Nothing in this article limits a party's right to
preemptory strikes in civil or criminal actions.